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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29618841">To Fall Asleep</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FloppyDisco/pseuds/FloppyDisco'>FloppyDisco</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dolls, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mentioned Pyrrha Nikos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:35:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,136</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29618841</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FloppyDisco/pseuds/FloppyDisco</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Penny and Ruby are moving in together after everything ends. The problem is, Ruby can't sleep. Penny finds out why.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>To Fall Asleep</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Penny loved Ruby.</p><p>That's why it was such a big deal when they finally started dating.</p><p>That's why it was such a big deal that they moved in together today.</p><p>They had moved in all the boxes, opting to take out everything tomorrow morning. All kinds of furniture, clothes, and various odds and ends rested in the boxes littered around the apartment. It was night now, and despite their aura enhanced strength, moving the boxes had been a lot of work. Penny remembered a moment where Ruby had leaned over a particularly heavy box they had both been carrying and kissed her. She had dropped the box. Luckily there wasn't anything fragile, and keeping up a defensive aura was a habit with all their years of fighting, so nothing and nobody was injured.</p><p>But a strange thing happened when the two had climbed into bed to fall asleep. Penny converted to low power mode as Ruby curled up beside her. Hours passed, and Penny noticed her girlfriend toss and turn, obviously not able to fall asleep. Ruby let out a quiet frustrated noise, then climbed out of bed and left the room. Penny hesitated, then followed suit, trying not to disturb the silver eyed girl. There was always the chance she was wrong, and Ruby was just sleepwalking. Maybe she just had to use the bathroom. But Penny loved Ruby, and that meant she worried. </p><p>The green eyed girl watched from around the corner as her girlfriend rifled through boxes, mumbling incoherently. After three boxes, she seemed to find what she was looking for, and clutched it tightly. Ruby turned around, immediately spotting Penny's glowing eyes in the dark. </p><p>"AAAGH!" The younger girl jumped back, startled. Penny cocked her head. "Ruby? Are you alright?" At the sound of her girlfriend's voice, she realised the source of the glow, and sighed in relief. "Penny, don't sneak up on me like that." </p><p>Penny moved closer to comfort Ruby, frowning. "I am sorry, you left the bed and I became worried." Ruby came closer to accept the comfort as well, though still holding onto her prize."Uh, yeah. Sorry about that. Sleeping is hard." Penny furrowed her brow. "I am confused. I thought sleeping was a natural and necessary part of an organism's daily routine?" Ruby let out a small laugh. Penny was adorable as always. "You're right, but that doesn't mean it's always easy. Evolution is dumb like that."</p><p>Penny was about to ask another question, but was distracted when she saw what Ruby had come out here for. It was a doll. It had a big head and a small body. And most interestingly, it was shaped like Penny. "Is that… me?" </p><p>Ruby, who seemed to have forgotten she was holding it, followed her gaze to the doll. "Uh, um. This. This is. This looks kinda bad, doesn't it?" She blushed, briefly putting the doll behind her back before realising how pointless that would be. Penny just furrowed her eyebrows more. "I am… confused? I do not understand why this would look bad for you. However, I  would appreciate an explanation as to why you have a doll in my image." </p><p>Ruby looked sheepish, opening her mouth to speak, pausing, and restarting several times before she started for real. "Ever since The Fall, I've had terrible nightmares. They were so bad, I started being afraid of sleeping. There were a lot of nights I didn't manage to sleep at all, heh. All the way from Patch to Argus, I got at most like, 4 hours of sleep a night? Something like that, I didn't keep track. Anyway, uh, when we made it to Atlas, and I saw you, well. That. That was one of the best moments of my life. Even if I got arrested immediately afterward. I slept a little better that night. Then, later on, when we had time to look around Mantle, there was a shop selling merchandise of you. I bought this doll, and when I fell asleep with it later, I didn't have any nightmares. It was like you were there to protect me. Ever since, I can't even fall asleep without it. Uh, are you okay?"</p><p>Penny's eyes were filled with artificial tears, and she quickly wrapped her girlfriend in a too-tight hug, forgetting her strength in the moment. "I'm so sorry. I wish I could've been there for you." Penny rested her head on Ruby's shoulders and loosened her grip in response to the strained noises emitted by the girl in her arms. Ruby rubbed the redhead's back, chin resting on her shoulder. "It's not your fault, you were kinda dead."</p><p>"You were hurting, and I wasn't there to help you. That is unacceptable."</p><p>"Your body didn't even make it to Atlas yet for like, a quarter of the time I had the nightmares."</p><p>"I should have acted differently in the Vytsl Festival."</p><p>"It's not your fault, it's mine. I should've gotten there quicker. If I wasn't so useless without Crescent Rose back then, I could've gotten past Mercury and saved you. Maybe that would've stopped The Fall."</p><p>Penny moved her head back, looking into Ruby's eyes. "Ruby, I could never blame you. Nobody does."</p><p>"I do." Ruby looked down and away. "I was too slow to save you, and too slow to save Pyrr-MMMPH!"</p><p>The redhead had interrupted her with a kiss. Her logic being that Ruby couldn't spiral like this if she was too busy thinking about something else. When the kiss broke, she spoke.</p><p>"Please, don't blame yourself. I don't want you to. I don't think Pyrrha would either, though I confess, I did not know her very well." She paused, gauging her girlfriend's reaction. When the other girl didn't respond, she continued. "I love you, so very much. I want you to be happy. Sleep with the me doll if you need to, but I am also here for you." </p><p>Ruby was still in a slight daze from the sudden kiss, but Penny's words touched her. She pulled the green-eyed girl close and rested her head on her shoulder, eyes shut tight. "I know you're here. It's why I felt so silly having to get the doll." Penny patted her girlfriend's back. "Have you tried holding on to me like you hold onto the doll?"</p><p>Ruby's eyes flew open. "I'm an idiot." Penny shook her head, smiling. "You are not. You are very intelligent. Do you want to go back to bed? If you fall asleep soon, you could complete your REM cycle by morning." Ruby pulled away slightly, so that they were still holding each other, but she could stare into Penny's eyes. "Yeah. I'd like that."</p><p>And so they fell asleep in each other's arms, soundly, with only pleasant dreams of fireflies and cookies.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I wrote this for my lovely girlfriend Quinn, and I really hope she likes it.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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